Technical Field
The technical field relates to a probe for detecting metal ions and chemical/biochemical molecules, and in particular it relates to a method for manufacturing the same and a detection method utilizing the same.
Related Art
Metal ions participate in many important biochemical reactions in vivo. For example, the metal ions of Fe, Cu, Co, Mn, Zn, Ca, Mg, K, or Na are necessary to maintain life activity. These metal ions usually have functions such as transmitting nerve impulses, muscle contraction, cell-activity regulation, or interacting with biochemical molecules to change the configurations or effect of the biochemical molecules. In other words, the metal ions play important physiological roles in every bio-system. In addition, the heavy metal pollution from industry, i.e. lead, cadmium, and mercury, can be bioconcentrated into the human body through the food chain, thereby directly influencing human health and the natural environment. A method of analysis for quickly detecting metal ions is therefore called for. Conventional methods for detecting metal ions include atomic absorption spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, atomic fluorescence spectroscopy, chemical titration, electrochemical analysis, and colorimetry. However, these methods usually have shortfalls such as requiring expensive instruments, demanding large sample volume, requiring complicated pre-treatment of a sample, and issues of non-immediate detection. As such, a simple, fast, and highly efficient method for detecting a trace amount of metal ions should be developed. If the method can be further applied to detect biochemical molecules, it will have a great practice meaning and market prospect.